"Most developers only develop tools when they hit a wall and simply cant do something without creating a tool. I on the other hand do a massive game alone so I walk straight in to a wall just for waking up in the morning. This has lead me to create some tools that save massive amounts of time. Developers should stop thinking of in-house tools as a necessary evil and start seeing the opportunities that come with making your own tools. Rather then just looking at what you cant get done, why not try to make tools that help you do the things you spend the most resources on even if they are simple?"
-Eskil Steenberg
The technology used in video games often advances much faster than the techniques and technologies that create the content to feed it. Sure you can create that photo-realistic character, but it's fairly limiting if it takes forever to make him look good or get him to walk right. A lot has been put into expanding what can be done and what is possible using the technology, but it's often limited by what can be done within a given amount of time or budget. Not only that, but when so much time and effort has to be spent on doing things, you're less likely to take risks and experiment knowing that the stakes are higher.
Tool development can be a wonderful thing. The development of better tools to increase the efficiency of creating content can make a huge difference in how games are made. The more you can reduce the amount of time and effort it takes to do something, the more time and effort you have free to spend on other things. Easier map making results in larger and more creative maps, easier animating means more time to make a greater variety of animations, easier scripting leaves more time to make more complex scripts.
Creating great games often means being able adapt, make changes, and being able to easily implement new ideas. Good tools can make a big difference in that regard.
Traditionally, tools that simply improve how to do simple things have had a much lower priority, throwing more money and manpower at a given task has been a more common solution.
However, this attitude has been changing for the better, especially through modding and user-created content as well as among independent developers who can't afford to throw money and manpower at their problems.
Even a small developer such as Frictional Games has spent some time making an easy to use level editor for their HPL engine.
Why? Not only does it make it easier for modders, but it improves how efficiently they themselves can create levels for their games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XojVUZJPmcSome other examples would be some of the tools developed by Eskil Steenberg. One of his latest creations is a tool that can add procedural filters to any 3D model, allowing the artist to do in a couple minutes what would otherwise be hours of UV-mapping and texture work.
http://quelsolaar.com/Many of you are already familiar with and have used a product of some clever tool development, Danmakufu.
Where else have you seen effective tool development being applied?
Are there any areas of game development that you believe could benefit from the development of better tools?
